Following the Wild Bees: The Craft and Science of Bee Hunting

Eloquent and witty book by a top-notch scientist! I was immediately inspired to follow wild bees myself. Tom Seeley is the rare scientist who can communicate complex ideas with nuance and clarity. If you are interested in honeybees, you must read this book (and his previous book, Honeybee Democracy, as well).

Let me tell you something: bees are interesting creatures, and so are naturalists. This book is ostensibly about how to track foraging bees back to their colonies, and if for some reason you wanted to do that, it would probably be a good guide. I don't see myself ever engaging in that particular activity but I read this book avidly anyway. First of all, that's because you can't understand the procedures involved without understanding the underlying instinctual behavior of the bees you're ttracking. Learning about this opens a conceptual window into the world all around us: to wit, animals- arthropods, birds, mice lizards and so forth- are bopping around all around us, engaging in their evolved behaviors, just like the bees depicted here. And guess what? There are books and podcasts and youtube videos on all of it. Not to mention rocks to turn over and milkweed to monitor right out in the back yard. Its thrilling really. A second reason to read this book is that the writer himself seems like an interesting guy, even if you don't get all jazzed up at the thought of a bee doing the waggle dance. Its always fun to engage with people who love what they do with their time, which this guy obviously does. Its also fun to follow the guy as he figures out ways to pin down a specific aspect of bee behavior. I got a good sense from the book as to how this sort of science is done. You could use his methodology as a model for your own backyard investigation and learn quite a bit I'd say. In short, an engaging, up-lifting, informative and inspiring read.

Gave this to a friend whose raising bees - she was delighted as she had not read about this before and was interested in anything to do with bees. Great gift for my bee raising friend.

Great book if your interested in bees and where they live in the wild.

Great book! Anyone who is a beekeeper needs to read this book. It gives a good idea of how bees fly and communicate in the wild. It's all based on experience and study, from a Harvard professor.

I want to learn this "almost" lost art. But, I'm old, and I"m not sure I have the time left. There is a whole lot of observing, which requires one to sit and wait and watch and, maybe, move forward 20 feet. But, you just might see the bee tree you are searching for when you get around that tree just ahead... maybe. This is hard work, but one gets the feeling it can be very rewarding work.

We love Seeley. His books are crazy interesting, even if you aren't an etymologist (and actually if you're not into bees - but they are a while different level if you are).I purchased this as a gift for my husband. Although (as I sort of expected) he doesn't anticipate following a hive, but he still learned things he can use as he manages his colonies.That said, after reading, this does seem super fun actually - so who knows, perhaps we'll make a few days of it and enjoy the woody outside sometimes.If you want to find bee colonies - this is for you. If you either find bees interesting, or consider yourself a beekeeper now, or would like to in the future, check out any of his books, They are the next best thing to being in the mind of a bee - without being a bee.

I already had George H Edgell's book, "The Bee Hunter" and had read it several times. Both books cover the art of Bee Hunting. The same equipment and strategies are described in each book. Tom Seeley offers a slightly simpler and easier to make Bee Box and has a few improvements in the supporting equipment. Seeley's book is thicker because it not only presents the HOW, but also explains the WHY behind the craft. The WHY is fascinating. There are plenty of pictures in Seeley's book so you get an idea of what you are looking for.The major difference between the two books is what you do after you locate the bees. Edgell briefly explains what equipment you will need to "take" the bees. Seeley claims that the thrill of the hunt and spending time in nature is adequate compensation. If you are simply trying to locate bee colonies, either book will be adequate, but if you are interested in the science as well, Seeley's book will not disappoint.

Well written, interesting, bought out of interest. Good purchase.

Molto bello, ma pieno di ditate unte sulla copertina, che non si riuscivano a togliere senza rovinare il libro (il libro era da regalare).

Seeley ist im Augenblick der popiulärste alternative Honigbienenspezialist und verschafft in dem Band aufregende Einblicke in Vorkommen und Verbreitung der "Wald"bienen

Prof Healey’s unvarnished love of bees here is palpable. They are far more than items to be studied scientifically. His enthusiasm in using the old ways to find bee colonies is infectious and you just want to get going yourself. In amongst the practicalities is a lot of weighty scientific data which might be off putting to a casual reader, however you can gloss over all the graphs and still have an enjoyable read. Once you’ve read and digested it, you might be moved to go and have a closer look at the science. It’s really interesting but then I am a biochemist and all that nerdy stuff is right up my boulevard!!

I have all 3 books from this authorBest books for beekeeper